What is true living?

Talk given by Sant Kirpal Singh, December 11, 1963 in Bace's Hall, Hollywood, California Available as mp3

I have been addressing you as friends, but now I see that we have realized that we are all brothers and sisters in God: we are all children of Light. Most of us here have been able to have a glimpse of the Light of God which is controlling all the universe. Truth is one. Whoever realized the Truth, or became the mouthpiece of the Truth, always gave out the same thing: in the human body that we have – which is considered to be the highest in all creation – the highest aim is to know the Truth. You can have the experience of Truth when you rise above body consciousness and come in contact with it. That Truth is clothed in Light. There is Music of all harmonies emanating from the Truth. Those are fortunate who have had the good fortune to have a contact with It. That seed has been sown: it will bear forth fruit. The only thing that remains is that we live up to that Truth.

Our Master (Baba Sawan Singh Ji) used to say, "If you take some laxative pills, whether you take them by error or knowingly, they will give you motions." Similarly, whatever experience of Truth has been given you, if you live by it, knowingly or unknowingly, or by compulsion even, you will have the effect. The only thing is that we should take it up and live up to it; and from day to day we will progress; and one day we will find the True Home of our Father.

God-into-expression has two aspects: Light and Sound – Music of the Spheres and Light. To come up to them, we require love. Also, Truth is above all, but true living is still above Truth. Our true living will safeguard us from losing the Truth that we have got. And what is true living? Masters have been giving this out in their own way from time to time.

The first thing is, we should observe truthfulness. What we mean we should say; whatever we say, we must mean. Our hearts and tongues and brains should all agree with what we give vent to. This is what is called truth or truthfulness.

You will simply find that we have no control over the words of our mouth that go to express what lies in the heart of our hearts. The two things should agree: what is in your heart and what you are giving out with your tongue. If these two agree then there is one thing to test the usefulness of the truth you are telling; that is, if your truth goes to harm anyone. Say only that much that is required so as not to harm anybody else. Don't do the work of the unpaid apprentices of the C.I.D. of God. Don't carry tales. If somebody tells you some thing, mind your own business. What are you after, really? You are really after knowing God and adopting certain ways which go to help you on the way. If you see something wrong somewhere, just point it out to the person privately – heart to heart; don't broadcast it like anything. A true friend is one who sees others to be on the right path. But there are ways and ways to say something. In the case of Father Abraham – I read his life story, and it was given there – he never spoke lies, but told half-truths. By a half-truth is meant only that part of the truth which does not go to harm anyone. This is one very important thing. If your heart and tongue and brain agree, your brain will test what you are going to say. Your intellect is to test whether what you express goes to the benefit of others or to harm others. If it is going to harm others, then don't speak. Then wait. Better set it right then and there.

As I told you before, don't work like the unpaid apprentices of the C.I.D. of God. It creates much trouble, first within your own hearts; because you have those things, which you don't need, in your own way. Those things go to stand in your own way, in the way of your own progress. The first thing is, we must be true to our own selves: what we think at heart we must give out. But before giving it out, think twice: What are you going to say? What will be the result of it? There you will use your intellect. And the only criterion is, not to give out anything that goes to harm others. This is the first thing.

Next comes humility. Water stays in a place which is low. it may be raining cats and dogs, in torrents; but the water will not stay on a steep place. It means that all good resides in a heart which is lowly, in those who are meek. St. Augustine was asked, "What is the way back to God?" And he said, "First, humility; second, humility; and third, humility."

When you are humble you learn something. When you know you know everything, you are naturally stuck fast in your own self-assumed ignorance, which may be taken as truth; but it may be wrong. You have taken up something, and that is good. If you hear that there is someone else who knows better, go to him, and hear him. Whatever you know, you know already. If you only hear from him what you already have in your mind, it will be confirmed. But if he has anything more to say, you can grasp it. You will find that many people do not have more of the truth, because in their own egotism, they consider that they are right; and that may be wrong. Only when he is humble can a man go to somebody. And if you go to somebody, then listen to what he says. What he knows he knows. Sometimes you simply say, "Oh, we know this already; this is no new thing." Just listen; he might have something new to say. If a glass is put under a tumbler of water, it will be filled. If the glass is kept above the tumbler of water, it won't be filled. Even if you have progressed on the way and you have known the Truth, you will still become truly humble. When a tree is laden with fruit, all branches bow down to the earth. You will find that the Saints who have become conscious co-workers of the Divine Plan are truly humble: because they see, "It is He Who is doing it, not I."

So the second thing required is humility. And the third thing is chastity. "Chastity is life and sexuality is death." Be chaste. Chastity opens the door of meditation. You will have quicker results. Marriage does not mean having unchaste lives, if it is lived according to what the scriptures say. The scriptures tell us that marriage means taking a companion in life who will be with you in the earthly sojourn. You should help each other to know God. This is the ultimate goal of the human body which we have. One duty may be that of begetting children, but it is not all of our duties. Try to adjust your lives according to the scriptures. And what did the Bible say? "Love your wives as Christ loved the Church." That is taking a companion in the earthly sojourn for some higher purpose.

So chastity is the ground on which the building of spirituality can be raised. First of all, those who are chaste have their body, brain and everything built on it. So if you are married, try to live up to what the scriptures say.

These are the three things. If you observe them, Tulsi says, "If you don't reach God, be rest assured: I am your surety that you will, you must." For this, you will find that we have to attain to Godhood. God and Godhood are not two things. There is God Absolute, which cannot be seen at any time. And there is God-into-action, which can be seen and contacted. The expression of God-into-action Power, which is called Word or Naam, is Light and Sound. To come in contact with them is coming in contact with the Truth. They are the electric lifts: if you come in contact with them, they will take you to the ultimate goal from which they emanated. Fortunate are those who have been put on the way by having a lift above the Iron Curtain of the physical body! We are to develop that from day to day. But to do that, something is very important: purity of life. Purity of life has so many aspects. First is the purity of the body. The body is the temple of God, the true temple of God. The outer temples raised by people are made in the image of the human body; they are models of the human body.

The Light of God and the Voice of God are already within your body. You can hear it; you can see it. Christ said to his disciples: "Blessed are you who see things that the old prophets and the righteous men could not see; who hear things that the old prophets and the righteous men could not hear." So, there are seals: our eyes and our ears are sealed. With the grace of God in the Master, if those seals are broken, you have some experience of seeing and hearing. Then, we have to take heed of how we should keep this human body, which is the true temple of God. In this human body only you can have an experience of the same. If we keep the outer temples raised by the hand of man so clean and tidy, why should we not keep the human body, which is the true temple of God, in which God resides, clean?

There are two ways to keep it clean. The first is: "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Keep your body clean. It is the true temple of God. Also don't put anything into it which goes to defile it. When we consider what we are to eat, the first thing required is that our livelihood has been earned by the sweat of our brow, in which there has been no dishonesty: you have been true to your work. Work is worship.

And further, whatever kind of food you take should be a helping factor spiritually. It should be food that does not go to flare up passions within you and that is digestible. You will find that this is generally fruits, vegetables, grains, milk and any products thereof. All Masters came and advised this. Even Christ said that. If you read the Essene Gospel of John you will find it there: "Whom you cannot give life to, don't take their life. Fruits, vegetables, milk and grain I give you for meat." This is the exact wording. All other Masters have had the same thing to say. So first, our livelihood should be earned by the sweat of our brow – honest earnings. It does not matter whether somebody is seeing you or not: the God in you must see to it.

Two men went to a Master. The Master told them, "Look here, what have you come for?" They said, "We have come to know God." "All right." He gave them two pigeons, one to each, and told them, "Go and kill them where nobody will see you."

One man was very clever. He went round behind a wall and killed it and came back within a few minutes. And the other man – poor fellow – was tossing about from place to place: he could not find any place where nobody was seeing him. In the evening he returned. He said, "Master, I have not found any place where nobody was seeing me." And he asked, "Who was seeing you?" "The very pigeon was seeing me."

Mind that, when a man is initiated, that God-power resides with him and watches his every action. Our Master used to say, "If a child of five years of age is sitting by you, you will not do any thing wrong in front of him." You'll want secrecy. When you think that that God-power is already residing within you, how can you commit any sin?

And the last thing is: whatever things you have brought for your eating, the hands through which these things pass should also be of those with pure thoughts. Because little, little things charge those things which pass through the hands of people who are unchaste. I have read in scripture that unchaste thoughts are like dogs. So earnings should be pure and honest, and the quality of the food you take should also be clean; and the hands through which these things pass should also be clean; they should be of pure heart. Because everything is charged, you see. Whatever thought reverberates in your mind, you have that charging. Why don't you feel it? That's the point. We do not feel it because there is already so much filth in us, say tons, that if a maund or even a seer – a kilogram – is added to it, what difference does it make?

Those who are pure in heart, even little ounces will affect them. So, these three things are important: honest earnings; the quality of the food; and the hands through which these things pass should be pure. The first two things are, I think, for those who earn their livelihood and bring things in from outside. And the third part is for those who cook, who prepare the dishes. They should be pure, with very noble thoughts of God and love for all: with no anger, no enmity, nothing of the sort.

Then, last, will come good character. So these are the things which go to defile anything we eat. If your hearts are pure, you will feel that little things will affect you. For that reason, because it is the temple of God, we have to keep the body clean. And also keep it clean from within by giving it food that does not go to defile it and by living a way which is pure. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Even if a fish is put in a river, still the bad odour does not leave it. Water can cleanse your bodies, but unless your thoughts are pure and your mind is pure, your body cannot be pure. I will give you an example: every morning you take a bath; and if for one day you do not take a bath, you sense a bad odour in the body. That is due to the thoughts that cross your mind daily. Every thought has its own effect, its own odour, its own colour, mind that. I tell you, those who have lusty thoughts, the odour from their body will be such that even if the body is cleansed every morning, they will again find that bad odour there. What results if you are feeling anger and are resentful or are always having something against somebody? That affects your body. Just smell your body. You will find a bad odour there, like the smell of a cloth burning. If you are very greedy in eating, too voracious, the smell of your body will be like the bad odour of a fish. So there are different odours. If your hearts are pure; if you have only good thoughts coming in you, striking you; if you have love, thoughts of love, thoughts of spiritual heights and love for God; then the smell of your body will be like that of jasmine.

These are the things which are not given in books; but this is how you feel. So the mind must be pure. If your mind is not pure, no matter how you cleanse your body, it will again give out a bad odour. That is why we use so much toiletry every day: we again find the bad odour there. For this, we have to keep our thoughts clean. In the human body of someone whose thoughts are clean, you will find the good ground for God to manifest. Tulsi tells us, "Just cleanse your heart, your mind." And what is the cleansing of the mind? Let no other thought other than that of God strike there. Even if you are living in the world, amongst your children, your families, your friends, the needle of your compass should be towards God. It is God who has given; it is God residing in them. If you always think: all men are alike; they have the same privileges from God and are born the same way; they are the same embodied souls, and the very same God-power is controlling them in the body; their bodies are the true temples of God; then, naturally, you will have respect for all. So this is the purity required for being able to progress from day to day.

And last of all comes selfless service, love for all, love for God and love for all others. All Masters said this same thing: Kabir said so; Guru Nanak said so: "Peace be unto all the world over, under Thy will, 0 God." Christ said so: "Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and love thy neighbour as thyself." So we have to love God; and love knows service and sacrifice. Love knows giving, sharing with others. Sometimes you will even sacrifice your own interests for the sake of others. That will go to expand your self. If need be, you will sacrifice your own life for the sake of others. Man is truly one who lives for the sake of others. Animals do live for their own selves; and they do love their children. What is the difference between a man and an animal? This is the only difference: a man lives for others, too. He should share with others; because we are all brothers and sisters in God. We are all sharers and partners in God. We are the limbs of the same body of God. And we have the same conscious essence working in us all and the same God-power controlling us in the body. For these reasons we must have selfless service. If we live for others, naturally others will live for us. "An example is better than precept." When you learn to give for the good of others, naturally you will feel joy; because your self expands. You will feel fresh. If you don't share with others and go on congealing or holding things for your own self, like animals, what will be the result? If there is a well from which no water is drawn out, it will give a bad smell. It will not even, I think, I be good for drinking. But the water of any well from which the water is taken out profusely is always fresh, and fragrant, too. For that reason, Masters say, "Let your boats of life remain in water; but let not water enter your boats." That means that we should not live for outer attachments and outer possessions, but they should live for us. We have to make the best use of them.

You will find that these arc very important things, which are always helping factors. Being put on the way and given the contact with the God-in-action Power, which is Light and Sound, is just the commencement. Now you have learned a little bit how to rise above body consciousness. That Light and Voice – whatever you have contacted – is just the initial thing. That still has to grow more and change, to ultimately take you to the place from where it emanated: to the Wordless state of God. The word Satsangi means: Sat means eternal, unchangeable permanence; and sangi means one who comes in constant contact with the Truth. You have had some experience to start with. But you have to go on still further and live up to it. "Rome was not built in a day." Time factor is necessary. When you develop from day to day you will become conscious of that Light and Music of the Spheres that is reverberating throughout all creation. It will come like that in due course, but we have to work for that. Mind that, one does not become a Satsangi, truly an initiate, simply by being given an inner contact. Of course, some experience is necessary to start with. If you have no experience, it cannot be developed.

So, fortunate you are, that with the grace of God, all of you have some contact with that. Now we have to develop it, so much so that even while sleeping, working and being anywhere we will always be conscious of it. So the initiate must mould his life in accordance with the principles of Satsang in thought, word and deed. You must be pure and live up to what you are told, even in your thoughts, even in your own speech and even in your own actions. Live up to them. And the Master tells us, "Those initiates who live up to them, I am at their service."

So actions speak louder than words; and thoughts are even more potent. You are not to tell others that, "I am a flower; the flower is very fragrant." Let the flower emit that fragrance, and let others say that the flower is fragrant. Let your lives prove that you have something higher. Otherwise, these things already exist in our scriptures. Knowing something is not becoming something. Knowing means just having in your brains and in your memories something that such and such scripture says; but that does not really give you anything, unless you live up to it. People will judge you only by your actions and what you speak. Your thoughts are even more potent than that, because thoughts radiate: if you have loving thoughts, those thoughts will radiate love. In the lives of the Saints, events have occurred in which even snakes would not go to harm them. In one story of Guru Nanak, he was lying under a tree. His whole body was love personified, and love overflowed his body. He was lying under a tree, and he was in meditation. The angle of the sun changed, and the shadow which had been over his head also changed. Now the sun's rays were on his face. A cobra came up and stood in the rays, so that no rays of the sun should fall on his face. The ruler of the place passed by. He thought that Nanak was dead because the snake was there and he must have bitten him. When he went near him, the snake went away, and Guru Nanak was alive. Why? Love radiates from our lives.

We had a similar event in our Satsang meetings at Delhi. About two thousand people were sitting there; and while I was giving a talk, one cobra, a little cobra, came out and stood on the stage just like that (Master demonstrates) in front of me. And the people said, "A cobra is coming!" I said, "Never mind; go on with it. Let him come and stand here." And he – that cobra – stood for one full hour, hearing the talk that was going on, looking at me. When the talk was over, he sneaked away, and the people said, "Let us kill him." "Why? He has not done anything. Why kill him?"

So this all is meant to say, if you have love for all, even snakes won't harm you. We have got a proverb: "Be wise like snakes." Snakes are very wise, mind that. When you see a snake and think, "Oh, kill him!" the very thought goes out, and he safeguards himself by attacking. If you have no evil thoughts for anybody, they won't do any harm to you. So, I am telling you, thoughts are more potent.

The initiate's daily conduct must reveal that he is a follower of a true Master. When you are given something very unusual, the special gift of God, your duty is to maintain it: "Take heed that the light which is within you is not darkened." By not observing these things, whatever light we get inside or whatever music we hear is almost stopped. That is why you will find I have prescribed diaries for self-introspection under certain heads: truthfulness – no harm, non-violence, in thought, word and deed; chastity – you see? the underlying principle; and love for all. All Masters, when they came, told us, "Love one another so that people may know you are coming to a true Saint." Masters are overflowing with the love of God and love for all humanity. They take up this role as given by God. Otherwise, if they were doing it in their own name, why should they be going around for no purpose, no selfish motive? They have only one motive: to just bring all children of God back to God. That's all. They don't need any payment; their talks are given free; they live on their own earnings; they are not a burden to anybody else. So when they say something, they say it out of their love for all. This is what is wanted.

Now, you will find that "an ounce of practice is worth more than tons of theories." Of what use is it to know the principles, if one does not live up to them? If you say, "Tell the truth," and you don't tell the truth; if you say, "Love others; don't think evil of others," and you still think evil of others; what is the use of knowing that? That's holding information in your brain. "Such and such scriptures say such and such; such and such Masters say such and such." Well, what is that to you? We should learn to live up to them. A learned man with no practice is no better than a beast of burden carrying a load of books, of scriptures, that's all. So it is infinitely better to practice than to preach. First live, then say. Otherwise, even though you may be a scholar and you may have written commentaries on certain subjects which sound outwardly very religious; even though you read scriptures and preach them to others; if you do not live up to them, then what is the sense of that? Truly, suchlike preaching does not carry any effect. Only the arrow that is drawn to the chest goes to the target. The words that come out of our heart, as we live up to them, carry effect by radiation to others' hearts.

I remember a case of one woman who brought her little child to Gandhi. She said, "This child eats too much sugar." Then Gandhi told her, "All right, mother, bring this child back after three days." She went away, and she came back after three days. Then he told her child, "Well, child, don't eat sugar." And the mother said, "Well, Gandhi, if you have only that much to say, why didn't you say it the other day?" He said, "Because I was eating sugar then."

Mind that, if you don't live up to what you say, those words won't carry any effect. I think there is so much preaching going on nowadays: perhaps in the olden days nobody even dreamt of it. And with all that, how many lovers are coming up? How many Saints are there? With all our preaching, our lives have not changed. What is the reason why? The preachers are themselves not living up to what they say. Mind that, any wind that strikes a burning fire and passes by it, those men who are sitting on the other side of it will have hot winds. And if there is some ice – mounds of ice, tons of ice, heaps of ice – and if any wind passes by it, the man who is sitting on the other side will have cold wind.

So whatever thoughts are in our hearts and any words we give out come charged with those very things that are already there. If a man openly is very good – "I am a very good man" – and his heart is full of passions and he is not living up to what the scriptures say, naturally whatever words he utters – even though they may be very sweet words – will carry the effect of heat. And if there is a heap of ice and you put a black blanket over it which does not appear to be very cold, even then, anyone who strikes that heap of ice, apparently covered by a black blanket, will receive cold. Do you follow my point?

This is what is required. A spoon passing through a sweet dish does not have any taste of it. This is just the way it is with persons who have so much knowledge at the intellectual level, but don't live up to it.

As I told you, an ounce of practice is worth more than tons of theories. This is one thing. And above all, I would say, as I told you before, a pure heart is most essential for spiritual progress. You cannot expect a king to enter a filthy cabin. Even a dog does not sit in an unclean place: he cleans the place with his tail. How can you expect God to appear in a heart full of passions, greed, pride, attachment or egotism?

So, what is a Saint? He is a man like you, but he is developed in that way. A little word of his carries more effect than hundreds of lectures given by others. As I told you, so much preaching is going on in almost all the holy places of worship of the religions. And are many men changing? Not in the least.

Our body is the temple of the living God. It should not be polluted, I would say, with the intake, as I explained to you, of anything that would go to defile it, anything that is not a helping factor on the way, such as meat, fish, fowl, eggs and alcoholic drinks. We have to keep our bodies pure and simple and have a loving heart for all, a helping hand for all. For that reason, we should live up to what the scriptures say. Try never to harm the feelings of others. If a blind man is there and you say to him, "Oh, blind man!" he feels it. If you just sit by him and say, "Dear friend, how did you lose your sight?" the purpose served is the same. Little words carry much effect. These very words go to work either as a consolation or to flare up feelings. For that reason, we must live up to what we say.

This is one side: this is self-introspection. Along with it, put in regular time to your meditation practices. The secret of success on the Path is practice, more practice and still more practice. Practice makes a man. What is the way to concentration? There is no high road to concentration. The only high road is to concentrate, concentrate and concentrate. For this very purpose, diaries for self-introspection have been prescribed. They will make you regular in your practices. They will bring to your notice any shortcomings that you have in your life. When you know there are so many scorpions and snakes sitting under your seat, naturally you want to clean them out. You have to weed out these things from day to day. For that reason, what should we do? Keep a diary. It is a very helpful factor, I tell you. It can make a Saint out of a robber. Man, who has the human body, has the birthright to see God. We can change, especially when we are helped by others: by those who are competent to give us help, who will take us in their charge and who have good will for us – not for us, but for our souls. They look to all the world over from the angle of God in them. They see all as the children of God, as their own children. When Guru Nanak left his hearth and home to carry the message of God to the world at large, he had two children and a wife. His mother-in-law came up and said, "Well, Nanak, what are you doing? Why are you leaving your family?" He said, "All humanity is my family."

They give and see from that level. This is also what Christ said. Once it so happened that his mother was seeking for him in the multitude and could not reach him on account of the greatness of the multitude. Someone told Christ, "Your mother is seeking for you." And he said, "Who is my mother? Who is my brother?" He pointed to the men sitting around him: "They are my mothers, they are my brothers, who hear the voice of God."

We already are brothers and sisters in God. Those who have been put on the way, they are true brothers and sisters in God. You see? This is the angle of vision from which the Masters look to us.

I'll tell you the story of a certain prince. He left his hearth and home to become a Saint. His name was Gopi Chand. He went to his Master. What did his Master tell him He said, "All right. Leave your hearth and home and come here." He sent him to beg, because they had nothing to eat or live on: "Go and bring alms from people's homes." But first he advised him to go to his own family, to his own wife, and then to others: to his mother and then everybody else. He went to his wife, begging. She said, "Now that my husband is gone, what are all these things for? I am left alone." She gave him all the ornaments that she had. Then he came to his mother. He had taken up that way of life under the advice of his mother. (Some mothers are very spiritual. They wish their children to be godly. So she had advised her son to take up that spiritual way.) She said, "Look here, I will give you three pieces of advice to live by. The first is that you must always remain in a strong fort." And Gopi Chand asked his mother, "Well, mother, there's no place to live in. Sometimes we'll have to pass our nights on the roadside. Why do you say that I should always live in castles – in very strong fortresses?" Then she explained to him, "Look here, live always under the custody of your Master." That's a very strong fort, mind that. Master is one at whose pole God is manifest and radiates His protection and love, even from thousands of miles.

If you can catch a voice from thousands of miles through the radio, why can't you have the radiation from the human pole at whom God is working? By radiation you can have it. That means: live where you are, perhaps near or far; always think of that God-power. Mind that, God is the true Master in whatever human pole He is manifested: that manifested God is the true Master who pervades all creation. When you come under the custody of such a God-in-man, or man-in-God, when he initiates you, he resides with you always. Never forget him. And Christ said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." That everybody knows. We should live up to them one hundred per cent of the time, if we would like to derive the full benefit of the man's life and his teachings.

But Christ said one thing more: "Let my words abide in you and you abide in me." The first part, everybody can understand: "My words abide in you." Whatever you have been told – all those things – live up to it. But how can you abide in me? Whomsoever you remember truly at heart, that reacts in the heart of the one whom you remember. That reacts. By that reaction, you abide in his heart. What is meant by this? Never transcend what he says, and live up to it one hundred per cent. But all the same, always have your attention directed to that God-power which is working at some human pole which has given you contact with God. That resides in you at the very time of initiation. The more you think of Him: "As you think, so you become." And that reacts in the heart of the one whom you remember. That gives you receptivity; that gives you quicker results. You can have that radiation whether from near or far. Kabir said, "If your Master is living beyond the seven seas, and you are living on this side, direct your attention towards him. You will have radiation and effect."

That is why Christ said, "When more than one man sits in my name, I am there." Mind that, Christ did live before Jesus. Jesus was the human pole at which that Christ-power worked. What is Christ-power? It is the God-power; it is the Guru- power: not the son of man, but the God-power that never dies. Christ said, "I shall never leave thee nor forsake thee till the end of the world." That power always exists and resides in you from the very moment you are initiated.

So it is a great privilege to be put on the way, or initiated. It is no ordinary thing. It is the special grace of God. The very same thing that people could not have after many long years, you get on the very same day. Previously the Masters used to prepare men first. Only when they were ready, they gave them something. But the times have changed. Also, in those times, the initiates had to live with the Master for months and years. So now the times have changed. Now Masters give the initiates some thing within to start with and also take on the duty of "making" them by giving them a self-introspection report to keep and submit at regular intervals.

So this is the first advice that his mother gave to Gopi Chand. And the second advice was: "Always sleep on very soft, and very nice and elegant beds." Then again, Gopi Chand told his mother, "Well, mother, there's no place to sleep there. We might have to sleep on stones and on earth. How can you say that we should have very fine, very soft beds?" Then she told him, "Well, look here; don't go to sleep unless sleep overtakes you. When sleep overtakes you, there's no question of whether you're lying on stones or earth or in a bed."

These were two pieces of advice given by the mother to her son. And the third thing she said was, "What should you eat? Eat the very best dishes; very delicious dishes." Then again he asked his mother, "Well, dear mother, how can we, when we are begging alms? Somebody will give us dry bread; sometimes we won't even get anything to eat. How can you say that we should always have a very rich diet, very delicious dishes?" Then his mother told him, "Look here, don't eat unless you feel very hungry. Do you see? Very hungry. When you are very hungry, even the grams [ In India, a kind of beans or chick peas] that you eat will taste delicious."

So these are the three pieces of advice given by the mother of Gopi Chand to her son. If you live up to them, you will find how much good they carry. Live up to the sayings of the Masters. They say, "Have pure lives." They say, "Let your earnings be honest." They say, "Just have good lives, good thoughts, good words and good deeds." And they say, "Always have the sweet remembrance of God."

On spiritual health depends the life of mind and body, both – the health of body and mind, both. You have been given something for spiritual health; that is, the Bread of Life. And that Bread of Life and Water of Life is the Light and the Sound Principle of God. That is the true food for bread.

You have to give your body something to eat. But we are not born to eat; eating is made for us. It is said, by way of a parable, that the things we eat and drink complained to the god of nourishment that "people eat us too much – very relentlessly." And the god of nourishment said, "All right; those that eat more than is required for them – you eat them up!" Do you see? If you eat what is digested, it will give you strength. If you eat too much, it is not digested; and it flares up diseases in us. If you have pure lives, normal lives, as required by scriptures, and live on hard-earned money, then you'll find that your body will also be all right. Nature has a curative power. Our soul has a curative power. Doctors simply help us to clear the way, that's all. When you leave it to nature, the soul has the curative power that cures all diseases of itself.

So these are the three instructions that were given by the mother of Gopi Chand on how to live his life. You'll find: "Never step out of the commandments of what the Masters. say." If you just carry this out and live within the four walls of the teachings of the Masters, you'll develop from day to day.

What do the Masters say further? They say, "Silence is golden. Speak as little as possible. Silence is golden. Speak as little as possible. When you speak, speak in the most kind and gentle manner. Don't lose your temper over anything. Always keep your tongue under control." This is one thing. The wound given by a sword will be healed in a month or so, but the wound given by the tongue is not healed. All through life, whenever you remember again, it becomes fresh.

So these are the things that we have to look after. Masters tell us, "Just fill one-half of your stomach with food, one fourth with water, and leave one-fourth vacant-empty." The more you keep the stomach empty, the more therein you will find the light of God developed. We eat more than what is required generally. We eat too much. We die of too much eating rather than of hunger. Yes, just consider; that is why Masters tell us this. I circulated in one of my circulars: simplify, simplify and simplify! Live in a simple way. You won't need to earn more money. You'll not have to cut the throats of others. Even from our hard-earned money, after you have spent what is legitimate, you can share with others. Generally you say, "We cannot live within our earnings." Where do they go? They are spent only on things which are not really required by us.

So, man becomes an angel by eating less, by not eating too much, and a beast by eating too much. Too much eating and sleeping clouds the inner vision, and over-eating always makes one feel sleepy and sluggish. The less we sleep, the more spiritual progress we make.

One man came to a Master in India, named Shivbrat Lal. (He came to America, too, some time back – I think about sixty years or fifty years ago.) One man came to him and complained, "I've got a headache." He said, "Look to your stomach." Another man came up and said, "When I sit in meditation, I feel drowsy and sluggish." He said, "Take care of your belly." A third man came and said, "My mind is not under control." Then he said, "Look to your belly." So eating is made for us; and we are not made for eating. These are little, little things which, if you act up to them, you'll find of much help.

Daily find some period of silence; and night is the best portion of the day for that. The tenth Guru of the Sikhs tells us, "The night is your lonely place." Those who have utilized their nights have become Saints; they have become gods. And students have become scholars with the best use of the night, the right use of what it is: those who have spoiled their nights have spoiled their lives. If we go to shows and have company and other engagements at night up to eleven, twelve, one or two o'clock, how can we progress in any way? A student who has burned the midnight oil becomes a scholar. A lover of God who has put in his nights in the best remembrance of God, taking in that all-solitude, becomes a Saint.

So, silence is best. Then we also have to take up solitude. Try to live alone as much as possible. "Cease from men; look above thee." Just mix with others as required. Sometimes we simply, for enjoyment's sake, waste time, kill time. And we complain that we've got no time. Out of twenty-four hours, you'll find that the amount of time you put into your daily earnings is, say, eight hours, ten hours or twelve hours; not more in any case. You've got then, twelve hours at your disposal. Give to sleep, say, five hours or six hours – six hours is due it; give two more hours to your eating, drinking and this thing and that; even then you've got four hours at your disposal. When people say, "We've got no time," they have to adjust themselves. Time has not to come from anywhere else; it is already there. We have to just adjust ourselves to it.

You'll find, the fewer wants we have, the happier we are. So cut down your wants, cut down your desires. Whatever subject you take up, put in more time towards it. You'll become a good scholar, a good scientist, a good lover of God, or good in any line you take up.

For that, as I told you, a pure moral life is required. As I told you, truth is above all; and true living is still above truth. A man is known only by how others find him. If you are true, you are helping, you are good, and you set a good example, others will follow you. They will not even give you credit; but they will give the credit to the school to which you belong – to the Master with whom you are connected.

For this, there is one principle to be followed. That principle is: perform no action in secret, except prayers. If any thing requires secrecy, abandon it at once. Deeds of darkness are always committed in the dark. Do nothing which, after being done, leads you to tell lies. And don't desire evil for anyone, irrespective of his creed or color, even in thought, word, and deed; because thoughts are more potent. Help some poor person, as He is in all; and do not hurt anyone by word and deed. These are the things which go to help us.

Always think that the God-power is residing within you and watching your every action. This is the first thing. And the second is: don't transcend the commandments given by him for you to live up to. If you do that, Kabir says, "You are not to be afraid in the three worlds, here and hereafter."

With all these things, devote regular time mornings and evenings to your practices, and do it fully, just like a child who has no wisdom: simply out of love, go to the lap of the Father or the Mother. Leave off all your wisdom and leave everything aside; go lovingly. In the evening, remove your evil daily life; and like a strict judge, try to weed out all the imperfections that you have, from day to day.

Even robbers have become Saints, I tell you. I met with suchlike robbers who were the heads of the dacoits. They took initiation, and now they are putting in six hours a day meditation. They even brought other bandits and recommended them for initiation. So man can change. There's hope for everybody. Every Saint has his past and every sinner a future.

Mind that, See no evil, hear no evil, talk no evil, and think no evil. If you follow these things, you will progress from day to day. And especially those people who are made group leaders: they should set an example for others who are coming on the way. They have not yet become Masters, I tell you. We are on the way. We may be selected as a Master; it is for God, I mean, to worry about whom He should give to continue the work. It is not our job, you see. We may be selected as a Master. But we should live up to what the Masters say. Those who live, they are selected as one.

I wish each one of you to become ambassadors of Truth. But that you can become only when you live up to what you say. And the diaries are meant for a very noble purpose – if you live up to them, as I told you. Send me blank diaries; I will accept them: blank diaries I will accept. But how long will you continue sending me blank diaries? You would not dare to send them blank every month. You'll feel morally that you're not doing right. You'll come round. I tell you, the diaries are not to be sent to the police station or broadcaster. They are meant for your own purpose, so that you may know what the shortcomings in you are; and further, to weed them out one by one. They are sent to me only for the purpose of guidance wherever necessary; because Rome was not built in a day. A time factor is necessary.

As I told you, these are a few of the words which come out of my heart to you all whom I hold dear the most. You are all more dear to me than my sons, my own family. I wish you progress, spiritually. You have the human body by the grace of God, and by the grace of God, you have been given a contact with God. That you have to develop with due regard to the self-introspection which will come up by keeping regular diaries sent to me at regular intervals, say quarterly. If you live up to it, everything will be cleared, I tell you honestly. If you sit by fire, all cold will go; if you sit by ice, all heat will go. If your soul comes into contact with the Light and Sound principle, all doubts will go. Doubts and other things arise because we don't live up to what we say.

These are the few words I'm telling you at the time I am with you physically. I may not be able to see you or you may not be able to see me physically, but the God-power, which is the true Master, now resides with you and "shall never leave you till the end of the world." It will take you to the true Father, and the true Father will take you to the Wordless state of God. My best wishes are with each one of you.

I wish you progress. This is the highest thing that I had in my life, with the grace of God; and through the grace of God working through my Master, I have passed it on to you, with His grace. Live up to them and derive the full benefit of this golden opportunity which God has given you.

So, with best wishes to you all, I'll be leaving tomorrow for Tustin. Those people who would like to come, I'll be too glad. And about the twentieth, I will have to leave for Dallas and to other parts of the U.S.; then go to Panama and South America. And after that, God willing, I may go back to India. But my heart: you are always on my mind. Keep regularly in touch with me through your diaries. If anything comes up that is very urgent – a life-and-death problem – you can write to me even before. But my real pleasure will go to you when you live up to this. You may be proud of me, but I will be proud of you, if only – you become what I want. I want each one of you to become like myself, or more than me, I would say. This is the truth that has been given to you. Well, live up to it. Don't be misguided. All scriptures tell us about that which has been given to you – an experience thereof – with the grace of God. If you find anything puzzling to you, please write to me. If I find that that truth is more than what has been given to you, I will also follow you. This is what my Master used to say. He said, "The truth has been given to you. If you find any more truth, take it up and tell me; I will also go there." We are after truth, you see.

So, I thank you all. You can meet me tomorrow or today when leaving. And my best wishes will always remain with you.